"Right from the start, he showed a lot of promise. He was very competitive, a good racer," said Chuck Miller, race director for Empire Super Sprints, the series that Kevin Ward Jr. was racing in when he got out of his sprint car and was struck and killed by Stewart.

Miller was seated in a tower above the Canandaigua race track watching when Ward was struck by Stewart's car. He said he didn't have a better view of the collision than anyone seated in the grand stand.

"Just seeing something like that happen in a split second. You take stock in life in general and racing."

This image provided by Logan Messerly shows ambulances on the scene at Canandaigua Motorsports Park on Saturday Aug. 9, 2014 in Canandaigua, N.Y. Authorities are investigating a serious crash that injured one person at a New York dirt track where Tony Stewart was racing on the eve of a NASCAR race.AP Photo/Logan Messerly

Miller said the incident was particularly difficult to stomach because Ward got out of his car, instead of waiting for emergency crews to get to him.

"It's difficult with the way that it happened, Miller said. "It would be easier to process if he was in the car. Had he stayed in the car, nobody would be having a conversation right now."

Miller said from his perspective, what started as a normal race with a routine collision became deadly when the racers' competitive natures came out.

Ward started racing with Empire Super Sprints in 2010, Miller said. The auto racing series competes primarily in Central New York in places like Fonda and Brewerton, but also travels to northeast tracks in Pennsylvania and as far as Quebec.

In Ward's first year racing in the series, he was named Rookie of the Year, Miller remembered. He was 16 or 17 at the time, and had recently transitioned from dirt track go-kart racing to sprint car racing, Miller said.

"He wasn't afraid to go fast. He was favorite of the fans too," Miller said. "He was just the typical young kid with visions of going places."

Ward, his good friend Dylan Swiernik, and few other young men started competing with Empire Super Sprints at the same time in 2010, Miller said.

The series feels like a big family, Miller said, and the young men -- particularly Ward and Swiernik, who grew up together -- fit right into it, goofing around together on trips and supporting one another. Ward's family helped sponsor events and backed the club since he started racing with it, Miller said.

Empire Super Sprints shared a photo of one of its racers, Kevin Ward Jr., who was killed in a race Saturday night in Canandaigua. Ward competed often in Central New York.Photo Courtesy Empire Super Sprints

Miller was impressed by Ward and the family's willingness to help out the other drivers. When one of the young drivers' parents couldn't provide a ride to Quebec a few years ago, the Wards immediately offered to help, Miller said.

But Ward stood out most on the track, he said.

"My biggest impression of him as a racer came during the Quebec Sprint Nationals. Midway through the race, we noticed Kevin passing cars like crazy. He was right on the edge," Miller said. "He got all the way up to second place. It was just so exciting to watch. Right then and there you knew the kid was the real deal."

Empire Super Sprints has a race scheduled at the Brewerton Speedway Friday. Miller expects the race to go on as scheduled. At that race or at some time in the near future, the club will have a tribute to Ward, he said.

"I always looked at him as one of the drivers of our future, within the sport of auto racing," Miller said. "It was just the raw talent that he displayed. ... He was so fearless."